Struggling with Exercise and Symptoms

I find exercise really hard and I don’t find a lot of benefit from it for myself. Walking my dog and playing with him is great and then some yoga. I feel good with those things. I might do some crunches or push ups a bit but not too much. I’ve been managing my weight with my calorie intake.

Keep trying, slow and steady. Its been 4 years now, but last year, i skipped the Tilt Table Test because I started to have improvement after being closely exposed to COVID. I slid a couple months later, when i actually contracted COVID. Well, yesterday, i had a day mostly free of POTS symptoms.!!!! I picture it as a slow climb up a big hill. And now i had time at the top (almost back to where i was 4 years ago). Today, not so great, but if it can happen once, it can happen again. Just keep trying.

For me it depends on the day. On a really bad day I have to be careful not to push it. One thing that works for me in meditation in the recovery position for 10 minutes following my workout. This was a game changer for me it helps reset my heart rate before I continue with my day. If I skip it I feel horrible and my HR stays elevated.

What kind of exercise have you tried? I would avoid anything strenuous. I've been increasing my walking this past week and it has me feeling great, but anything other than leisurely walking sends me into a flare. I've been trying to be more healthy so I can hopefully get even a small fraction of my life back but it's slow going. Definitely make sure you aren't overdoing it. For us potsies exercise isn't as exclusively beneficial as most normal people. But there are things we can do that help, even if it may only help a little bit. 🙂

I've had so much trouble with exercise, and honestly, I find that doing a conventional 30+ min workout is waaaay too much. Sometimes just going on a short walk or doing a 5 minute work out gets me moving but isn't enough to make me feel really bad (I mean idk if it's the same for you) but honestly, just recognizing that I can't work out the same as an able bodied person is okay.

Don’t give up! Research the Levine protocol for POTS. Remember you won’t feel great after every workout and that’s ok. You have to make the decision if you want to feel like crap without exercising or feeling like crap with exercise and doing something nice for your body. I’ve been doing Levine protocol for a couple of months and I promise it gets easier.

I could write essays about how much this very dilemma has affected my health but I don't assume you'll want to read paragraphs on paragraphs 😂 So instead here's my tips and actionable thoughts. Biggest and most importantly- don't be afraid to alter workouts to accommodate yourself. POTS makes it incredibly hard to change positions and so much of exercise requires that. Big thing for me is seated or laying exercise so if I do faint I'm not in as much danger. I found a stationary bike super helpful. I lift weights laying down. A lot of leg and upper body motions can be done laying on your back so look for those and see if that helps. Also make sure you're staying up on electrolytes BEFORE exercising. Most people need to replace electrolytes as they sweat but if you have pots having a Gatorade or an electrolyte tab before you start can help give you a head start. Also remember that any progress is good progress. If all you're able to is 1 rep of something, that's better than no reps. It doesn't matter if what you can do looks like what you see in your friends or in the media, if it's progress for you that's valuable and so incredibly incredibly worth it

I started slowly because when I tried to exercise like able-bodied people my symptoms worsened drastically. Never push yourself further then needed. Set a heart rate goal and don't pass it. And watch how your body reacts. Again Never push yourself further then your body can handle. I believe in you.